Local MLA Pat Bell said it's an absolutely safe bet he will remain in the Liberal fold and dismissed John van Dongen's decision to switch to the Conservatives unhelpful in the quest to prevent vote-splitting on the political spectrum's right wing.
"It's shortsighted and all it does is serve to help elect an NDP government," said Bell, a Liberal cabinet minister and MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie.
"This history is there around this. In 1972 and in 1991 and 1996, whenever there [are] multiple, free enterprise parties the NDP wins, so this does not serve the goals of the free enterprise coalition."
However, Cariboo North independent MLA Bob Simpson said it's a sign the Liberals are suffering brand collapse and the party would be wise to call a general election sooner rather than later.
In a surprise move, van Dongen, the MLA for Abbotsford South, stood up in the legislature Monday to say he has quit the Liberals, accusing it of a failure of leadership.
Simpson called the development bad news for British Columbians because it creates a distraction from the business of governing. Instead, he said, the legislature is being overwhelmed with the political noise of campaigning.
"We have a hold bunch of substantive issues that need to be addressed that get lost in all of this," Simpson said.
Premier Christy Clark can wait until May 2013 to call an election but given the climate, Simpson said she should call one now. Even if the Liberals lose, the defeat won't be as bad as the one they would suffer if they continue to hang on, he argued.
"This is the ideal opportunity because the Liberals are coming apart, [but] the Conservatives are in a bit of an upsurge but they're not at the point of being able to really mount a concerted province-wide campaign," Simpson said.
However, Bell said calling an election now is out of the question and set election dates eliminate the political games-playing.
"I think it is the most responsible action to take," Bell said of remaining with the current timeline.
Simpson said he will run in the next election as an independent and is working to attract other candidates who believe the current party system is broken. Depending on how it works out, the independents might hold the balance of power.
"We've got up to half-a-dozen or so who are interested, because it's quite possible that we get one of those close scenarios that we got between Glen Clark as premier and Gordon Campbell as opposition leader where there is only a three-vote difference," Simpson said.
"So, if we can get three or four or five independents in the legislature, we may actually be able to control some of the agenda because our votes are needed."
University of Northern British Columbia political science professor Jason Morris said van Dongen will bring considerable political experience to the Conservatives but is now on his own in the legislature.
"Now, he's going to be an independent MLA officially, and that brings little opportunity to speak out in the legislature," Morris said. "It's really isolating, it's not a position of even modest political influence."
